Forgotten World (88): Alaska
Alaska is one of the 50 states of the USA. It was purchased by the United States from Russian interests in 1867 for a mere $7M. It became the 49th state of the USA in 1959.
It is easily the largest state in geographical size and, thanks to its minerals and oil, one of the richest and most ethnically diverse. It has a population of only about 630,000 in an area of 663,267 square miles, so there is more than one square mile per person. The most populous city is Anchorage with 260,000 but the capital is Juneau. Alaska has the lowest individual tax burden in the USA and is one of only six states with no state sales tax and one of seven states that do not levy an individual income tax.
July 4th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
On my recent trip to the USA, I flew with Alaska Airlines for the first time (between Las Vegas and Seattle). Their in-flight magazine was fascinating, and one of the things I learnt was that not only do they not levy individual income tax, but that thanks to the oil revenue, native Alaskans get a pay out from the state each year! Later I met a couple from Atlanta who had just spent a vacation in Alaska and highly recommended it for a wide variety of reasons.